CDC, TheBoardroom to double women on boards in Africa

The U.K. development finance institution CDC is committing £1.6 million to TheBoardroom Africa to assist in doubling the number of women occupying company board seats in Africa by 2028.

The representation of women on company boards on Africa is disproportionately low. In Africa, 14% of company board seats are occupied by women, compared to 15% globally, according to the non-profit Catalyst.

Ghanaian entrepreneur Marcia Ashong founded TheBoardroom, or TBR, in 2016 to foster greater representation of women in African businesses through a network of peer-endorsed female candidates. It then helps connect companies and organizations with its candidates. Some of its recent placements include CDC portfolio organizations like MedAccess and the Africa Food Security Fund.

CDC’sJen Braswell said TBR’s help to the CDC in finding “outstanding candidates for our portfolio that we would not have otherwise found” was a key reason for the investment. The funding was committed from a technical assistance program and is part of a new CDC gender-focused strategy.